Exit planning

Most small business owners spend years thinking about how to build the business and almost no time thinking about how it will eventually end — a sale, a wind-down, a transfer to family. Exit Planning: Selling or Closing a Business Well starts that thinking early, whatever your eventual path turns out to be, covering the different ways a business can end, what actually makes a business more sellable, what a valuation process really involves, and how to close well when selling isn't the right path.

This book won't estimate what your business is worth or tell you which exit path is right for you — those are specific, high-stakes questions for professionals who can look at your actual business. What it will do is make sure you understand the landscape well enough to have that conversation prepared, not starting from zero.

Inside, you'll learn how to:

• Understand why exit planning starts years before you actually exit

• Know the different ways a business can genuinely end

• Make your business more sellable, even with no immediate plans to sell

• Understand what a business valuation actually involves

• Close a business well when selling isn't the right path

• Build your exit team before you urgently need one

Part of the Business Basics That Work series: practical, no-fluff guides for freelancers, local shop owners, and small business owners who'd rather get it done than read a textbook.